flood zone research for florida

Florida Flood Zone Map Now Available on the MoversAtlas MoveMap!

The MoversAtlas team has been hard at work over the past few months and we are now excited to announce that the move map now has a flood zone map for the state of Florida! The new flood zone feature can be turned on by going to the MoveMap page and then clicking on the Heat Maps section on the left hand side and then turning on the flood zones radio button. Once you have the flood zones turned on you will see an overlay of four different shades of color appear on the map, red being the highest risk and light blue being the lowest risk and then yellow indicating unstudied areas.

flood zones in florida

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The biggest deal with flood zones(besides the possibility of your house being filled with water) are that they are typically reported back to insurance companies and even if it’s not in a high hazard zone the rates can still be much higher than other areas. The flood zones on the MoveMap are geographic areas that FEMA has defined the different level of flood risks.

If you have been in the state of Florida for a while you are probably familiar with the many marshes, wetlands, everglades and other low areas that are wet just about year around. With that said you should remember that the entire state is right at sea level and to a point there are reasons why that some flood zones are important but some do not necessarily need to be worried about.

Flood zones or hazard areas are identified as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). In essence the SFHA are defined as the area that will be inundated by the flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 1-percent annual chance flood is also known as the “100-year” flood, subsequently the .2 percent is known as the “500-year” flood.

The SFHAs are labeled Zone A, Zone AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO, Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30. Moderate flood hazard areas are labeled Zone B and X (shaded) and low are Zones C and X (unshaded) along with Zone D which are undetermined risk areas but still could flood or have higher insurance premiums.

The highest flood zone area is known as a “V-Zone” which is typically first row beach front, this is obvious due to the high winds, possible waves and low areas.

“A” zones are the next most volatile which are subject to rising waters or near lakes and rivers. These areas are also known as high risk and require flood zone insurance coverage. Each letter and numbering distinguish different requirements for building construction and your surroundings.

We hope this information will give you better knowledge of the flood risk of your home, neighborhood, and its surrounding areas. We encourage you to use the new flood zone feature when searching for a new home in Florida so you can have an idea of the risks and potentially higher insurance premiums before you buy your new house! Also, make sure to check out all the other great information and tools on MoversAtlas.com to help make your home search easier!

Lebron James $17 Million Miami Mansion For Sale

After Lebron James left the Miami Heat for Cleveland it was inevitable that he would have to part way with his stunning Miami Mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove.

luxury houses for sale in miamiThe beautiful waterfront home has an impressive 12,000 square feet and boasts 6 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms.

luxury real estate in cocnut grove

luxury proeprties in maimi florida

This amazing luxury property comes loaded with a ton of amenities including a concrete dock with enough space for two 60 foot yachts:

luxury real estate for sale miami beach

A home movie theater:

mansions for sale in maimi fl

A 3 car garage:

biacayne bay mansions for sale in miami

And an infinity pool overlooking Biscayne Bay:

bicayne bay mansion for sale with inifinity pool

The house is exactly what you might expect in Miami as far as luxury properties are concerned.  The price tag on this place is right at $17 million which equals $1,396 per square foot!  For the average homeowner putting 20% down on a 30 year fixed mortgage you can expect a monthly payment of $65,000 a month, of course that doesn’t include utilities or taxes for that matter.

According to public records you would pay around $185,000 a year in property taxes but as they say, you get what you pay for.

For most of us this maybe slightly out of our price range BUT if you are looking for another fabulous house in Florida we have plenty to offer.  Check out www.moversatlas.com to start your home search find important information on the neighborhoods and communities that you are interested in living!

Large Sinkhole Swallows Street and Threatens Homes in Spring Hill Florida

It’s scary to think you could find the perfect house and then realize there is something terribly wrong!  Normally the “big” items are caught during a home inspection and you either receive leverage on negotiating the house’s price or you have Sink hole opens up north of tampa in spring hill communitythe opportunity to walk away.

The only problem is when it happens to be a sinkhole it is difficult to predetermine the problem.  Sinkholes in Florida are much like floods or even hurricanes, you know if you live in an area that is prone to these “acts of God” but you cannot tell the future so you never know if or when a sinkhole will actually occur.  This is exactly what happened in a neighborhood just 50 miles north of Tampa and no, this won’t be the first or the last.

On July 20th a sinkhole opened up in Spring Hill, FL right in the road and adjacent front yards 40-yards wide and 30-feet deep.  County officials will investigate the hole to determine the next action.  Engineers will look at geological test to ensure the hole is not going to grow even further.  No one was hurt but until the investigation is complete three of the closest home owners are awaiting the results and the fourth homeowner is planning to move out.

For homeowners the most important things to keep in mind about sinkholes are:

  1. Insurance costs and effects the sinkhole would have.
  2. Acts of God can happen almost anywhere.
  3. Knowing your neighborhood is more important than how much you love the house.

Bottom line is Florida is all limestone and when the water table drops the cavities under the surface can open up forming a sink hole.  With an increase in property development, water management (or there lack of) and erosion it is sometimes a recipe for sinkholes.   There is an upside though, you can get this information and have the ground tested by professional engineers.  There is always a chance something not so favorable could happen but do your due diligence of the areas you are looking to live in.  Much like living in flood zones, sinkholes are tracked and state geologists are working on creating a statewide map showing where sinkholes are most likely to form.  The fieldwork they completed has offered a “relative vulnerability” map that has proved to be 93 percent successful in the plot area predicting where sinkholes will form.  The plot area includes 230 locations in the Columbia, Hamilton and Suwannee counties.

If you are in the process of searching for a new home you will definitely benefit from the information provided on our MoveMap! You can research all kinds of information about your potential home, neighborhood and surrounding community so you can make sure the home you buy is the perfect home for you!